Features

People

Sports

Philippine News

Join us at Facebook!

HK’s ICM raises US$2 million for the Philippines’ poorest

25 October 2018

Sutherland with ICM's beneficiary community in backdrop

By Daisy CL Mandap

When it comes to raising funds for the Philippines’ poor communities, nothing beats the
Hong Kong –based charity group, International
Care Ministries. Or to be more precise, its extensive support base from Hong Kong’s elite.

Three guests paid $150,000 each for dinnerhosted by VP Robredo and catered by Fores

At its annual banquet held at the Hong Kong Convention and
Exhibition Centre last night, Oct. 24, ICM raised a record-breaking HK$15.9
million (or more than US$2 million) for its various programs in central and southern
Philippines.

Among the evening’s highlights was the live auction, where
there was frenzied bidding for the dinner for eight with Philippine Vice President and pro-poor advocate Leni
Robredo at her home in Quezon City, to be catered by world-famous chef,
Margarita Fores.

Just hours after auctioneer Joff van Reenen brought down the
gavel for $150,000, ICM’s chief executive officer David Sutherland said in an
email that two other bidders offered to pay the same amount if VP Robredo would
agree to host them as well.

“We immediately contacted the VP and before 1:30am she
agreed to accommodate three ICM dinners at her home for three different
auction winners. I am impressed!”

A similar thing happened to the live auction for skiing
lessons with the Polish ski mountaineer Andrzej Bargiel, plus dinner and
accommodation for 10 at a luxury ski resort in Niseko, Japan
After the gavel went down for $160,000, another bidder made the same offer for
the experience, and got an immediate yes.

Van Reenen auctioning off the Mandela lithograph

The third item in the live bidding, a lithograph with an
imprint of the left palm of the late South African President and freedom
fighter Nelson Mandela, went for $250,000.

Still, the $1 million raised from the live auction was just
a fraction of the record haul that ICM made from its 2018 “Stepping Free from
Poverty” banquet.

Sutherland said that it was the first time the charity group
had breached the US$2 million threshold from its annual fundraiser.

“This US$2m is about 25% of ICM's annual cash funding needs
- a great start to our funding year,”he said.

Young guest holds her number paddle to donate $400k, then $40k

Nearly half of the amount, or $6.6 million, came from the
night’s jaw-dropping “Moment of Giving” part, when 122 guests raised their
number paddles in succession to hand out between $8,000 and $800,000, all in
one go.

Many donors gave $80,000 each, as this was matched dollar
for dollar by a United
States charity, Find Us Faithful, up to a
maximum of US$500,000. Sutherland said the counterpart fund was exhausted
because of the donors’ generosity.

“Highest ever,” said Sutherland in describing the money
raised from guests who gave and expected nothing in return.

Philippine Consul General Tony Morales and Consul Paul Saret were among the guests

“Leaves me speechless to see so many different people
donating. Thank you. As I mentioned, one of the things that separates the ICM
banquet is not a handful of people generating all of the donations - it is
truly a democratic effort where a wide range participate.”

Another big draw was the silent auction when a total of $1.7
million was raised from donated items, mostly artworks from Philippines-based
donors and other supporters. The items were auctioned off in three lots, in-between
the three-course dinner.

ICM, which operates in nine regions and 23 provinces in Visayas and Mindanao, has set a budget
of HK77.64 million (Php541 million) for its operations this year and next.

ICM beneficiaries get
share of spotlight

Sugar Cane Warriors from Bacolod show their winning moves

No ICM banquet is complete without the presence of young,
happy Filipinos who provide the best testimony of how the Hong
Kong – based charity transforms lives, and offers hope to the
ultra poor.

At this year’s dinner, most poignant was the presence of
young Alexis, who just had a successful club hand/foot surgery, with help from
ICM’s Medical Mercy Fund. The six-year-old boy helped convince 13 donors to
give $40,000 each in exchange for his framed handprints, so others could also
benefit from the live-changing surgeries.

According to ICM, eight Filipino children with club foot
were treated between 2017 and 2018. It is anticipated that 15 children will
need the same kind of help each year. Those with cleft palates are the most
numerous, with 61 children treated last year, and up to 200 others expected to
need the same kind of treatment each year.

At the banquet, most visible were the three young members of
the ICM children’s choir, who emceed the show. Mary Jane, Rizzel and Nica have
performed along with the rest of the ICM choir have shared their songs of hope
with hundreds of people in the Philippines, Hong Kong and the United States,
including at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Among those who provided entertainment were three teenagers
from BacolodCity, who were the runaway winners in
the final round of the “Stepping Free” dance contest. Marvin, CJ and Erben who call themselves the “Sugar Cane
Warriors,” delighted the audience with their energetic movements and daring
acrobatics.

According to the souvenir program, the boys’ families have
benefited from ICM’s programs since 2015. Often forced to choose between school
and working in the sugar cane fields that surround their homes, they’re said to
choose the former, as they know the importance that education plays in their
future,

The Bacolod boys won over the
spirited performance of the River Dancing Queens from Western Mindanao and Coco
Mommas from Southern Mindanao.

ICM, which has an office in Manila,
operates in nine bases across the Visayas and Mindanao: Palawan, Panay, Negros
Occidental, Negros Oriental, Cebu, Bohol,
Zamboanga del Norte, Koronadal, and General Santos.

Its work extends to 23 provinces through partnerships with
6,000 churches.

Last year, it provided help to its one-millionth family
member through its Transform program, and aims to reach the next million by its
30th anniversary in 2023.

In future, it hopes to extend help to other poor communities
across the globe. - - DCLM